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Category Archives: Social Issues

[From the article: One of the best
kept secrets in the world of publishing stems from nothing more than a lack of
consumer knowledge regarding the copyright laws as they pertain to individuals
with disabilities. As more and more readers tune in to the ever-increasing
numbers of electronic content, a wider understanding of the law is spreading,
especially among educational institutions, so that individuals can take full
benefit from existing legislation such as the Chafee Amendment and the Instructional Materials Accessibility Act. While
organizations have existed for many years to produce expensive and unwieldy
print editions of large-print and Braille-print books, new groups are forming
with the advent of digital publishing to make that accessibility even less
cumbersome. “We operate under the copyright law,” says Betsy Burgess of Bookshare.org, “meaning that
students who have a print disability can have access to books in alternate
formats without having to purchase them or compensate the author. Qualifications
for this purpose are things like a visual impairment, a physical disability, or
a severe learning disability like dyslexia, just to name a few.”]

[From the article: Looking for a solution, researchers at the University of Washington turned to Foldit, a program created by the university a few years ago that transforms problems of science into competitive computer games, and challenged players to use their three-dimensional problem-solving skills to build accurate models of the
protein. With days, the gamers generated models good enough for the researchers
to refine into an accurate portrayal of the enzyme’s structure. What’s more,
the scientists identified parts of the molecule that are likely targets for
drugs to block the enzyme.]

In just three weeks, online gamers deciphered
the structure of a retrovirus protein that has stumped scientists for over a
decade, and a study out Sunday says their breakthrough opens doors for a new
AIDS drug design.

[From the article: First there were glow-in-the-dark fish, then rats, rabbits, insects, even pigs. And, now, researchers have inserted the jellyfish genes that make fluorescent proteins into Felis catus, or the common household cat.]

[From the article: The new state
biennial budget (FY 2012-13) in Texas, signed Tuesday by Governor
Rick Perry, will reduce state funding for the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission by 64 percent and will cut state funding for the agency’s library
programs by 88 percent.

According to figures provided by the state
library, the overall state library budget will shrink from $19.8 million each
year of the two-year budget to $7.2 million. Funding for the state agency’s
library programs will go from $12.8 million to $1.6 million. The Library Development
and Library Resource Sharing divisions will be merged into a single division.]